Police: Burglary suspect set fire to home

Updated Feb. 28, 12:10 p.m.: Fire gutted the garage of a Loines Avenue home in Merrick on Feb. 26 and quickly spread to the house itself, sending smoke billowing throughout the home, melting the front siding and setting an SUV in the front driveway ablaze. The fire, officials said, was allegedly started by a Brentwood man who had broken into the garage between 5:30 and 6:15 a.m.

Initial reports on Sunday were that the suspect was seeking refuge in the garage after burglarizing a nearby house, but Nassau County police later said that the man, identified as 23-year-old George Diamond, broke into the one home only.

Police alleged that Diamond set fire to papers with a match, igniting the blaze. Officials declined to comment about why he might have started the fire. Wearing only a T-shirt, shorts and socks, Diamond ran from the house toward Miller Place when the fire got out of control, according to police. A nearby neighbor reported chasing Diamond away from his property as the fire raged. Officials said Diamond was then arrested in the backyard of the home that he allegedly set fire to. Merrick firefighters were first to confront him. Police quickly intervened, and Diamond was taken away in handcuffs.

The homeowner, a woman, escaped the blaze with her dog unharmed.

The fire was reportedly so intense at one point that it melted the siding of a neighboring home. Merrick firefighters extinguished the blaze with the help of volunteers from the North Merrick, Bellmore and Roosevelt fire departments. According to police, 100 firefighters were needed to bring the blaze under control.

The Nassau County Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating. Diamond was charged with arson in the second degree and burglary in the second degree. He pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in First District Court in Hempstead on Monday. Bail was set at $102,500 cash and $205,000 bond.

Diamond is represented by the Legal Aid Society, which does not comment on cases as a matter of policy.

Ron Luparello, spokesman for the Merrick Fire Department, said that two Merrick volunteers were hospitalized –– one at South Nassau Communities Hospital in Oceanside and one at Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow. They were treated for smoke inhalation and released.

Dave Weingrad contributed to this story.